User Interfaces for Controlling and Manipulating Groupings in a Multi-Zone Media System

ABSTRACT

In general, user interfaces for controlling a plurality of multimedia players in groups are disclosed. According to one aspect of the present invention, a user interface is provided to allow a user to group some of the players according to a theme or scene, where each of the players is located in a zone. When the scene is activated, the players in the scene react in a synchronized manner. For example, the players in the scene are all caused to play a multimedia source or music in a playlist, wherein the multimedia source may be located anywhere on a network. The user interface is further configured to illustrate graphically a size of a group, the larger the group appears relatively, the more plays there are in the group.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. application Ser. No.10/861,653, entitled “Method and apparatus for controlling zone playersin a multi-zone system” filed Jun. 5, 2004.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention is generally related to the area of consumer electronicsand human-computer interaction. In particular, the invention is relatedto user interfaces for controlling or manipulating a plurality ofmultimedia players in a multi-zone system.

An enduring passion for quality audio reproduction or system iscontinuing to drive demands from users. One of the demands includes anaudio system in a house in which, for example, one could grill toclassic rock on a patio while another one may cook up his/her own musicselections in a kitchen. This is all at the same time while a teenagercatches a ballgame in a family room, and another one blasts pop in abedroom. And the best part of such audio system is that each familymember does not need his or her own stereo system—one system giveseveryone access to all the music sources.

Currently, one of the systems that can meet part of such demand is aconventional multi-zone audio system that usually includes a number ofaudio players. Each of the audio players has its own amplifier(s) and aset of speakers and typically installed in one place (e.g., a room). Inorder to play an audio source at one location, the audio source must beprovided locally or from a centralized location. When the audio sourceis provided locally, the multi-zone audio system functions as acollection of many stereo systems, making source sharing difficult. Whenthe audio source is provided centrally, the centralized location mayinclude a juke box, many compact discs, an AM or FM radio, tapes, orothers. To send an audio source to an audio player demanding suchsource, a cross-bar type of device is used to prevent the audio sourcefrom going to other audio players that may be playing other audiosources.

In order to achieve playing different audio sources in different audioplayers, the traditional multi-zone audio system is generally eitherhard-wired or controlled by a pre-configured and pre-programmedcontroller. While the pre-programmed configuration may be satisfactoryin one situation, it may not be suitable for another situation. Forexample, a person would like to listen to broadcast news from his/herfavorite radio station in a bedroom, a bathroom and a den whilepreparing to go to work in the morning. The same person may wish tolisten in the den and the living room to music from a compact disc inthe evening. In order to satisfy such requirements, two groups of audioplayers must be established. In the morning, the audio players in thebedroom, the bathroom and the den need to be grouped for the broadcastnews. In the evening, the audio players in the den and the living roomare grouped for the music. Over the weekend, the audio players in theden, the living room, and a kitchen are grouped for party music. Becausethe morning group, the evening group and the weekend group contain theden, it can be difficult for the traditional system to accommodate therequirement of dynamically managing the ad hoc creation and deletion ofgroups.

There is a need for dynamic control of the audio players as a group.With a minimum manipulation, the audio players may be readily grouped.There is further a need for user interfaces that may be readily utilizedto group and control the audio players.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This section is for the purpose of summarizing some aspects of thepresent invention and to briefly introduce some preferred embodiments.Simplifications or omissions in this section as well as in the abstractor the title of this description may be made to avoid obscuring thepurpose of this section, the abstract and the title. Suchsimplifications or omissions are not intended to limit the scope of thepresent invention.

In general, the present invention pertains to controlling a plurality ofmultimedia players, or simply players, in groups. According to oneaspect of the present invention, a mechanism is provided to allow a userto group some of the players according to a theme or scene, where eachof the players is located in a zone. When the scene is activated, theplayers in the scene react in a synchronized manner. For example, theplayers in the scene are all caused to play an audio source or music ina playlist, wherein the audio source may be located anywhere on anetwork.

According to another aspect of the present invention, various userinterfaces are provided to facilitate a user to create and manage agroup and also create, edit or update a playlist for the group.Depending on implementation, the user interfaces may be displayed on atouch screen from which a user may act directly with the screen to groupthe players, the user interfaces may also be displayed on a display withother means (e.g., a stylus, a scroll wheel, or arrow buttons) tointeract. In addition, the user displays are configured to showgraphically how many players in a group versus other individual players.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, the scenemay be activated at any time or a specific time. A user may activate thescene at any time so that only some selected zones in an entertainmentsystem facilitate a playback of an audio source. When the scene isactivated at a specific time, the scene may be used as an alarm orbuzzer.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, acontrolling device (also referred to herein as controller) is providedto facilitate a user to select any of the players in the system to formrespective groups each of which is set up per a scene. Although variousscenes may be saved in any of the members in a group, commands arepreferably sent from the controller to the rest of the members when oneof the scenes is executed. Depending on implementation, the commandsinclude parameters pertaining to identifiers of the players, volumessettings, audio source and etc.

According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a configurablemodule is implemented in the controlling device that providesinteractive graphic user interface for forming, managing and controllinggroups in the system, de-grouping a group or adjusting audio volume ofindividual players or a group of players.

The present invention may be implemented in many forms includingsoftware, hardware or a combination of both. According to oneembodiment, the present invention is directed to a method for groupingsin a multi-zone media system, the method comprises providing a mechanismto allow a user to determine which players in the system to beassociated with a theme representing a group; and configuring the themewith parameters pertaining to the players, wherein the theme isactivated at anytime or a specific time so that the players react in asynchronized manner. The players in a scene are synchronized to play amultimedia file when the scene is activated.

According to another embodiment, the present invention is directed to amethod for groupings in a multi-zone media system, the method comprisesproviding a user interface to allow a user to determine which players inthe system to be associated with a theme representing a group, the userinterface showing all available players at the time the user interfaceis created; allowing the user to visually select one of the players tobe a first member of the theme; allowing the user to add more of theavailable players to the theme, if desired; and configuring the themewith parameters pertaining to the players. The theme may be activated atanytime or a specific time so that the players react in a synchronizedmanner.

According to still another embodiment, the present invention is directedto an entertainment system for grouping players, the system comprises: aplurality of players, each located in one zone; and a controllerproviding a mechanism to allow a user to select which of the players tobe associated with a theme representing a group; and configure the themewith parameters pertaining to the selected players, wherein the theme isactivated at anytime or a specific time so that the selected playersreact in a synchronized manner. As a result, the selected players aresynchronized to play a multimedia that is in a digital format andretrieved from a source over a network.

One of the objects, features, and advantages of the present invention isto remotely control a plurality of multimedia players in a multi-zonesystem, playing and controlling the audio source synchronously if theplayers are grouped together, or playing and controlling the audiosource individually if the players are disassociated with each other.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention willbecome apparent upon examining the following detailed description of anembodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the presentinvention will become better understood with regard to the followingdescription, appended claims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an exemplary configuration in which the present inventionmay be practiced;

FIG. 2A shows an exemplary functional block diagram of a player inaccordance with the present invention;

FIG. 2B shows an example of a controller that may be used to remotelycontrol one of more players of FIG. 2A;

FIG. 2C shows an exemplary internal functional block diagram of acontroller in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3A provides an illustration of one zone scene, where the leftcolumn shows the starting zone grouping—all zones are separate, thecolumn on the right shows the effects of grouping the zones to make agroup of 3 zones named after “Morning”;

FIG. 3B shows that a user defines multiple groups to be gathered at thesame time;

FIG. 3C shows an exemplary user interface (UI) of individual zones in ahouse;

FIG. 3D shows a user interface as a result of the use activating “linkzones” of FIG. 3C;

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary user interface that may be displayed on acontroller or a computer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5A shows another user interface to allow a user to form a scene;

FIG. 5B shows still another user interface to allow a user to form ascene;

FIG. 5C shows a user interface to allow a user to adjust a volume levelof the zone players in a zone scene individually or collectively; and

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart or process of providing a player theme or azone scene for a plurality of players, where one or more of the playersare placed in a zone.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The detailed description of the invention is presented largely in termsof procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, and other symbolicrepresentations that directly or indirectly resemble the operations ofdata processing devices coupled to networks. These process descriptionsand representations are typically used by those skilled in the art tomost effectively convey the substance of their work to others skilled inthe art. Numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide athorough understanding of the present invention. However, it will becomeobvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention may bepracticed without these specific details. In other instances, well knownmethods, procedures, components, and circuitry have not been describedin detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring aspects of the presentinvention.

Reference herein to “one embodiment” or “an embodiment” means that aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connectionwith the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of the phrase “in one embodiment” in variousplaces in the specification are not necessarily all referring to thesame embodiment, nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutuallyexclusive of other embodiments. Further, the order of blocks in processflowcharts or diagrams representing one or more embodiments of theinvention do not inherently indicate any particular order nor imply anylimitations in the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals refer to likeparts throughout the several views. FIG. 1 shows an exemplaryconfiguration 100 in which the present invention may be practiced. Theconfiguration may represent, but not be limited to, a part of aresidential home, a business building or a complex with multiple zones.There are a number of multimedia players of which three examples 102,104 and 106 are shown as audio devices. Each of the audio devices may beinstalled or provided in one particular area or zone and hence referredto as a zone player herein.

As used herein, unless explicitly stated otherwise, an audio source oraudio sources are in digital format and can be transported or streamedover a data network. To facilitate the understanding of the presentinvention, it is assumed that the configuration 100 represents a home.Thus, the zone player 102 and 104 may be located in two of the bedroomsrespectively while the zone player 106 may be installed in a livingroom. All of the zone players 102, 104 and 106 are coupled directly orindirectly to a data network 108. In addition, a computing device 110 isshown to be coupled on the network 108. In reality, any other devicessuch as a home gateway device, a storage device, or an MP3 player may becoupled to the network 108 as well.

The network 108 may be a wired network, a wireless network or acombination of both. In one example, all devices including the zoneplayers 102, 104 and 106 are coupled to the network 108 by wirelessmeans based on an industry standard such as IEEE 802.11. In yet anotherexample, all devices including the zone players 102, 104 and 106 arepart of a local area network that communicates with a wide area network(e.g., the Internet).

Many devices on the network 108 are configured to download and storeaudio sources. For example, the computing device 110 can download audiosources from the Internet and store the downloaded sources locally forsharing with other devices on the Internet or the network 108. Thecomputing device 110 or any of the zone players can also be configuredto receive streaming audio. Shown as a stereo system, the device 112 isconfigured to receive an analog audio source (e.g., from broadcasting)or retrieve a digital audio source (e.g., from a compact disk). Theanalog audio sources can be converted to digital audio sources. Inaccordance with the present invention, the audio source may be sharedamong the devices on the network 108.

Two or more zone players may be grouped together to form a new zonegroup. Any combinations of zone players and an existing zone group maybe grouped together. In one instance, a new zone group is formed byadding one zone player to another zone player or an existing zone group.

Referring now to FIG. 2A, there is shown an exemplary functional blockdiagram of a zone player 200 in accordance with the present invention.The zone player 200 includes a network interface 202, a processor 204, amemory 206, an audio processing circuit 210, a module 212, andoptionally, an audio amplifier 214 that may be internal or external. Thenetwork interface 202 facilitates a data flow between a data network(i.e., the data network 108 of FIG. 1) and the zone player 200 andtypically executes a special set of rules (i.e., a protocol) to senddata back and forth. One of the common protocols used in the Internet isTCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). In general, anetwork interface manages the assembling of an audio source or file intosmaller packets that are transmitted over the data network orreassembles received packets into the original source or file. Inaddition, the network interface 202 handles the address part of eachpacket so that it gets to the right destination or intercepts packetsdestined for the zone player 200.

The network interface 202 may include one or both of a wirelessinterface 216 and a wired interface 217. The wireless interface 216,also referred to as a RF interface, provides network interface functionsby a wireless means for the zone player 200 to communicate with otherdevices in accordance with a communication protocol (such as thewireless standard IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g). The wired interface217 provides network interface functions by a wired means (e.g., anEthernet cable). In one embodiment, a zone player includes both of theinterfaces 216 and 217, and other zone players include only a RF orwired interface. Thus these other zone players communicate with otherdevices on a network or retrieve audio sources via the zone player. Theprocessor 204 is configured to control the operation of other parts inthe zone player 200. The memory 206 may be loaded with one or moresoftware modules that can be executed by the processor 204 to achievedesired tasks. According to one aspect of the present invention, asoftware module implementing one embodiment of the present invention isexecuted, the processor 204 operates in accordance with the softwaremodule in reference to a saved zone group configuration characterizing azone group created by a user, the zone player 200 is caused to retrievean audio source from another zone player or a device on the network.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the memory 206 isused to save one or more saved zone configuration files that may beretrieved for modification at any time. Typically, a saved zone groupconfiguration file is transmitted to a controller (e.g., the controllingdevice 140 or 142 of FIG. 1, a computer, a portable device, or a TV)when a user operates the controlling device. The zone groupconfiguration provides an interactive user interface so that variousmanipulations or control of the zone players may be performed.

The audio processing circuit 210 resembles most of the circuitry in anaudio playback device and includes one or more digital-to-analogconverters (DAC), an audio preprocessing part, an audio enhancement partor a digital signal processor and others. In operation, when an audiosource is retrieved via the network interface 202, the audio source isprocessed in the audio processing circuit 210 to produce analog audiosignals. The processed analog audio signals are then provided to theaudio amplifier 214 for playback on speakers. In addition, the audioprocessing circuit 210 may include necessary circuitry to process analogsignals as inputs to produce digital signals for sharing with otherdevices on a network.

Depending on an exact implementation, the module 212 may be implementedas a combination of hardware and software. In one embodiment, the module212 is used to save a scene. The audio amplifier 214 is typically ananalog circuit that powers the provided analog audio signals to driveone or more speakers.

Referring now to FIG. 2B, there is shown an exemplary controller 240,which may correspond to the controlling device 140 or 142 of FIG. 1. Thecontroller 240 may be used to facilitate the control of multi-mediaapplications, automation and others in a complex. In particular, thecontroller 240 is configured to facilitate a selection of a plurality ofaudio sources available on the network, controlling operations of one ormore zone players (e.g., the zone player 200) through a RF interfacecorresponding to the RF interface 216 of FIG. 2A. According to oneembodiment, the wireless means is based on an industry standard (e.g.,infrared, radio, wireless standard IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b or 802.11g).When a particular audio source is being played in the zone player 200, apicture, if there is any, associated with the audio source may betransmitted from the zone player 200 to the controller 240 for display.In one embodiment, the controller 240 is used to synchronize more thanone zone players by grouping the zone players. In another embodiment,the controller 240 is used to control the volume of each of the zoneplayers in a zone group individually or together.

The user interface for the controller 240 includes a screen 242 (e.g., aLCD screen) and a set of functional buttons as follows: a “zones” button244, a “back” button 246, a “music” button 248, a scroll wheel 250, “ok”button 252, a set of transport control buttons 254, a mute button 262, avolume up/down button 264, a set of soft buttons 266 corresponding tothe labels 268 displayed on the screen 242.

The screen 242 displays various screen menus in response to a user'sselection. In one embodiment, the “zones” button 244 activates a zonemanagement screen or “Zone Menu”, which is described in more detailsbelow. The “back” button 246 may lead to different actions depending onthe current screen. In one embodiment, the “back” button triggers thecurrent screen display to go back to a previous one. In anotherembodiment, the “back” button negates the user's erroneous selection.The “music” button 248 activates a music menu, which allows theselection of an audio source (e.g., a song) to be added to a zoneplayer's music queue for playback.

The scroll wheel 250 is used for selecting an item within a list,whenever a list is presented on the screen 242. When the items in thelist are too many to be accommodated in one screen display, a scrollindicator such as a scroll bar or a scroll arrow is displayed beside thelist. When the scroll indicator is displayed, a user may rotate thescroll wheel 250 to either choose a displayed item or display a hiddenitem in the list. The “ok” button 252 is used to confirm the userselection on the screen 242.

There are three transport buttons 254, which are used to control theeffect of the currently playing song. For example, the functions of thetransport buttons may include play/pause and forward/rewind a song, moveforward to a next song track, or move backward to a previous track.According to one embodiment, pressing one of the volume control buttonssuch as the mute button 262 or the volume up/down button 264 activates avolume panel. In addition, there are three soft buttons 266 that can beactivated in accordance with the labels 268 on the screen 242. It can beunderstood that, in a multi-zone system, there may be multiple audiosources being played respectively in more than one zone players. Themusic transport functions described herein shall apply selectively toone of the sources when a corresponding one of the zone players or zonegroups is selected.

FIG. 2C illustrates an internal functional block diagram of an exemplarycontroller 270, which may correspond to the controller 240 of FIG. 2B.The screen 272 on the controller 270 may be a LCD screen. The screen 272communicates with and is commanded by a screen driver 274 that iscontrolled by a microcontroller (e.g., a processor) 276. The memory 282may be loaded with one or more application modules 284 that can beexecuted by the microcontroller 276 with or without a user input via theuser interface 278 to achieve desired tasks. In one embodiment, anapplication module is configured to facilitate grouping a number ofselected zone players into a zone group and synchronizing the zoneplayers for one audio source. In another embodiment, an applicationmodule is configured to control together the audio volumes of the zoneplayers in a zone group. In operation, when the microcontroller 276executes one of the application modules 284, the screen driver 274generates control signals to drive the screen 272 to display anapplication specific user interface accordingly, more of which will bedescribed below.

The controller 270 includes a network interface 280 referred to as a RFinterface 280 that facilitates wireless communication with a zone playervia a corresponding RF interface thereof. In one embodiment, thecommands such as volume control and audio playback synchronization aresent via the RF interfaces. In another embodiment, a saved zone groupconfiguration is transmitted between a zone player and a controller viathe RF interfaces. The controller 270 may control one or more zoneplayers, such as 102, 104 and 106 of FIG. 1. Nevertheless, there may bemore than one controllers, each preferably in a zone (e.g., a room) andconfigured to control any one and all of the zone players.

In one embodiment, a user creates a zone group including at least twozone players from the controller 240 that sends signals or data to oneof the zone players. As all the zone players are coupled on a network,the received signals in one zone player can cause other zone players inthe group to be synchronized so that all the zone players in the groupplayback an identical audio source or a list of identical audio sourcesin a timely synchronized manner. Similarly, when a user increases theaudio volume of the group from the controller, the signals or data ofincreasing the audio volume for the group are sent to one of the zoneplayers and causes other zone players in the group to be increasedtogether in volume and in scale.

According to one implementation, an application module is loaded inmemory 282 for zone group management. When a predetermined key (e.g. the“zones” button 244) is activated on the controller 240, the applicationmodule is executed in the microcontroller 276. The input interface 278coupled to and controlled by the microcontroller 276 receives inputsfrom a user. A “Zone Menu” is then displayed on the screen 272. The usermay start grouping zone players into a zone group by activating a “LinkZones” or “Add Zone” soft button, or de-grouping a zone group byactivating an “Unlink Zones” or “Drop Zone” button. The detail of thezone group manipulation will be further discussed below.

As described above, the input interface 278 includes a number offunction buttons as well as a screen graphical user interface. It shouldbe pointed out that the controller 240 in FIG. 2B is not the onlycontrolling device that may practice the present invention. Otherdevices that provide the equivalent control functions (e.g., a computingdevice, a hand-held device) may also be configured to practice thepresent invention. In the above description, unless otherwisespecifically described, it is clear that keys or buttons are generallyreferred to as either the physical buttons or soft buttons, enabling auser to enter a command or data.

One mechanism for ‘joining’ zone players together for music playback isto link a number of zone players together to form a group. To link anumber of zone players together, a user may manually link each zoneplayer or room one after the other. For example, there is a multi-zonesystem that includes the following zones.

Bathroom

Bedroom

Den

Dining Room

Family Room

Foyer

If the user wishes to link 5 of the 6 zone players using the currentmechanism, he/she must start with a single zone and then manually linkeach zone to that zone. This mechanism may be sometimes quite timeconsuming. According to one embodiment, a set of zones can bedynamically linked together using one command. Using what is referred toherein as a theme or a zone scene, zones can be configured in aparticular scene (e.g., morning, afternoon, or garden), where apredefined zone grouping and setting of attributes for the grouping areautomatically effectuated.

For instance, a “Morning” zone scene/configuration command would linkthe Bedroom, Den and Dining Room together in one action. Without thissingle command, the user would need to manually and individually linkeach zone. FIG. 3A provides an illustration of one zone scene, where theleft column shows the starting zone grouping—all zones are separate, thecolumn on the right shows the effects of grouping the zones to make agroup of 3 zones named after “Morning”.

Expanding this idea further, a Zone Scene can be set to create multiplesets of linked zones. For example, a scene creates 3 separate groups ofzones, the downstairs zones would be linked together, the upstairs zoneswould be linked together in their own group, and the outside zones (inthis case the patio) would move into a group of its own.

In one embodiment as shown in FIG. 3B, a user defines multiple groups tobe gathered at the same time. For example: an “Evening Scene” is desiredto link the following zones:

-   -   Group 1    -   Bedroom    -   Den    -   Dining Room    -   Group 2    -   Garage    -   Garden        where Bathroom, Family Room and Foyer should be separated from        any group if they were part of a group before the Zone Scene was        invoked.

One of the important features, benefits and objects in the presentinvention is that that zones do not need to be separated before a zonescene is invoked. In one embodiment, a command is provided and links allzones in one step, if invoked. The command is in a form of a zone scene.After linking the appropriate zones, a zone scene command could applythe following attributes:

Set volumes levels in each zones (each zone can have a different volume)

Mute/Unmute zones.

Select and play specific music in the zones.

Set the play mode of the music (Shuffle, Repeat, Shuffle-repeat)

Set the music playback equalization of each zone (e.g., bass treble).

A further extension of this embodiment is to trigger a zone scenecommand as an alarm clock function. For instance the zone scene is setto apply at 8:00 am. It could link appropriate zones automatically, setspecific music to play and then stop the music after a defined duration.Although a single zone may be assigned to an alarm, a scene set as analarm clock provides a synchronized alarm, allowing any zones linked inthe scene to play a predefined audio (e.g., a favorable song, apredefined playlist) at a specific time or for a specific duration. If,for any reason, the scheduled music failed to be played (e.g., an emptyplaylist, no connection to a share, failed UPnP, no Internet connectionfor an Internet Radio station), a backup buzzer will sound. This buzzerwill be a sound file that is stored in a zone player.

FIG. 3C shows an exemplary user interface (UI) 330 to show all availableindividual zones in a house. Each zone player can play a type of media(such as music, photographs and video) independently. Each zone playerin the UI may be highlighted on the screen using either a touch screenor an input device such as a stylus, a scroll wheel, or arrow buttons.If a user wishes to link players in some rooms together to form a groupso that players in these rooms are playing the same media in asynchronized fashion, the user may activate the grouping function byactivating “link zones” 332 that leads to a user interface 340 as shownin FIG. 3D.

The UI 340 shows that the zone players available for grouping areselectable. In one embodiment, the UI 340 is displayed (e.g., a touchscreen) to allow the user to choose what zone players to be included ina group named after “Bedroom” so that they are all playing the same song“The Beatles”. It should be noted that the user may have an option toname the scene, for example, “afternoon”, or “light music”. In theexample shown in FIGS. 3C and 3D, the user selects the Bedroom zone andthen the “Link Zones” button 332, as a result, the default name for thescene being created is named after “Bedroom”. As shown FIG. 3D, a zoneplayer may be selected or highlighted by “checking” it into the group.In another embodiment, the selection action could also be achievedthrough pressing the “+−” icon next to each zone.

FIG. 3E shows a user interface 350 after the user has selected some ofthe available zone players into the scene. The display 350 is sodisplayed that a user can easily tell a group of linked players from theisolated players. According to one embodiment, a display may be providedto visually tell a user what have been grouped and what are not grouped.The display may even show various groups by size to indicate a number ofzone players in each of the groups, for example, the larger a groupappears, the more zone players there are in the group.

In general, all players in a group are caused to play the media beingplayed in the first member used to form the group. In the case of FIG.3E, the zone player in the bedroom is used to initiate the group or thefirst one in the group. At the time of forming the group, the zoneplayer in the bedroom is playing “the Beatles”, as soon as a second zoneplayer joins the group, the second zone player starts to be synchronizedwith the one already in the group and thus to play “the Beatles” in thiscase. As will be described below, the user now can switch the group ofplayers to any other type of media or a different piece of music and allof the zone players in the group will play the selected media at thesame time.

FIG. 4 shows an exemplary user interface 400 that may be displayed on acontroller 142 or a computer 110 of FIG. 1. The interface 400 shows alist of items that may be set up by a user to cause a scene to functionat a specific time. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the list of itemsincludes “Alarm”, “Time”, “Zone”, “Music”, “Frequency” and “Alarmlength”. “Alarm” can be set on or off. When “Alarm” is set on, “Time” isa specific time to set off the alarm. “Zone” shows which zone playersare being set to play a specified audio at the specific time. “Music”shows what to be played when the specific time arrives. “Frequency”allows the user to define a frequency of the alarm. “Alarm length”defines how long the audio is to be played. It should be noted that theuser interface 400 is provided herein to show some of the functionsassociated with setting up an alarm. Depending on an exactimplementation, other functions, such as time zone, daylight savings,time synchronization, and time/date format for display may also beprovided without departing from the present invention.

According to one embodiment, each zone player in a scene may be set upfor different alarms. For example, a “Morning” scene includes three zoneplayers, each in a bedroom, a den, and a dining room. After selectingthe scene, the user may set up an alarm for the scene as whole. As aresult, each of the zone players will be activated at a specific time.

FIG. 5A shows a user interface 500 to allow a user to form a scene. Thepanel on the left shows the available zones in a household. The panel onthe right shows the zones that have been selected and be grouped as partof this scene. Depending on an exact implementation of a user interface,Add/Remove buttons may be provided to move zones between the panels, orzones may be dragged along between panels.

FIG. 5B shows another user interface 520 to allow a user to form ascene. The user interface 520 that may be displayed on a controller or acomputing device, lists available zones in a system. A checkbox isprovided next to each of the zones so that a user may check in the zonesto be associated with the scene.

FIG. 5C shows a user interface 510 to allow a user to adjust a volumelevel of the zone players in a zone scene individually or collectively.As shown in the user interface 510, the ‘Volumes . . . ’ button (shownas sliders, other forms are possible) allows the user to affect thevolumes of the associated zone players when a zone scene is invoked. Inone embodiment, the zone players can be set to retain whatever volumethat they currently have when the scene is invoked. Additionally theuser can decide if the volumes should be unmuted or muted when the sceneis invoked.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart or process 600 of providing a player theme or azone scene for a plurality of players, where one or more of the playersare placed in a zone. The process 600 is presented in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention and may be implemented in amodule to be located in the memory 282 of FIG. 2C.

The process 600 is initiated only when a user decides to proceed with azone scene at 602. The process 600 then moves to 604 where it allows auser to decide which zone players to be associated with the scene. Forexample, there are ten players in a household, and the scene is namedafter “Morning”. The user may be given an interface to select four ofthe ten players to be associated with the scene. At 606, the scene issaved. The scene may be saved in any one of the members in the scene. Inthe example of FIG. 1, the scene is saved in one of the zone players anddisplayed on the controller 142. In operation, a set of data pertainingto the scene includes a plurality of parameters. In one embodiment, theparameters include, but may not be limited to, identifiers (e.g., IPaddress) of the associated players and a playlist. The parameters mayalso include volume/tone settings for the associated players in thescene. The user may go back to 602 to configure another scene ifdesired.

Given a saved scene, a user may activate the scene at any time or set upa timer to activate the scene at 610. The process 600 can continue whena saved scene is activated at 610. At 612, upon the activation of asaved scene, the process 600 checks the status of the players associatedwith the scene. The status of the players means that each of the playersshall be in condition to react in a synchronized manner. In oneembodiment, the interconnections of the players are checked to make surethat the players communicate among themselves and/or with a controllerif there is such a controller in the scene.

It is assumed that all players associated with the scene are in goodcondition. At 614, commands are executed with the parameters (e.g.,pertaining to a playlist and volumes). In one embodiment, data includingthe parameters is transported from a member (e.g., a controller) toother members in the scene so that the players are caused to synchronizean operation configured in the scene. The operation may cause allplayers to play back a song in identical or different volumes or to playback a pre-stored file.

One of the features, benefits and advantages in the present invention isto allow sets of related devices (controllers and operating components)to exist as a group without interfering with other components that arepotentially visible on the same wired or wireless network. Each of thesets is configured to a theme or a scene.

The present invention has been described in sufficient detail with acertain degree of particularity. It is understood to those skilled inthe art that the present disclosure of embodiments has been made by wayof examples only and that numerous changes in the arrangement andcombination of parts may be resorted without departing from the spiritand scope of the invention as claimed. While the embodiments discussedherein may appear to include some limitations as to the presentation ofthe information units, in terms of the format and arrangement, theinvention has applicability well beyond such embodiment, which can beappreciated by those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

1. A method for groupings in a multi-zone media system, the methodcomprising: providing a user interface to allow a user to determinewhich players in the system to be associated with a theme representing agroup, the user interface showing all available players at the time theuser interface is created; allowing the user to visually select at leastone of the players to be a first member of the theme; allowing the userto add an additional one or more of the available players to the theme,if desired; configuring the theme with parameters pertaining to theplayers, wherein the theme is activated at anytime or a specific time sothat the players react in a synchronized manner.
 2. The method asrecited in claim 1, wherein the user interface also shows what media isbeing played on each of the available players.
 3. The method as recitedin claim 2, wherein said allowing the user to visually select at leastone of the players to be a first member of the theme comprises:displaying a visual means for the user to activate a selection of one ofthe players; and modifying the visual means after the selection is madeso that the selection can be visually seen.
 4. The method as recited inclaim 3, further comprising displaying the user interface to show thetheme graphically, the more members in the theme, the larger the themeis shown with respect to any of the available players that are notmember of any theme.
 5. The method as recited in claim 3, wherein thegroup includes by default at least a controller used to provide commandsto synchronize the players in the theme.
 6. The method as recited inclaim 5, wherein the controller is used to manage the group and create,edit or update a playlist for the group.
 7. The method as recited inclaim 1, further comprising: activating the theme; determining a statusof each of the players; and sending commands to the each of the playersto play the multimedia file when the status indicates that the each ofthe players is in condition to synchronize with the group.
 8. The methodas recited in claim 7, wherein the commands include data that causes avolume level of the each of the players to be set to a predeterminedlevel.
 9. The method as recited in claim 7, wherein the commands includedata that causes a volume level of the players in the group all to beset to a predetermined level provided the players are all in conditionto synchronize with the group.
 10. The method as recited in claim 1,wherein, when the theme is activated at a specific time, the group isconfigured to perform as an alarm.
 11. An invention for groupings in amulti-zone media system, the invention comprising: a plurality ofplayers in the system; a controller showing a user interface to allow auser to determine which of the players to be associated with a themerepresenting a group, the user interface showing all available playersat the time the user interface is created, the handheld device includingan entry mechanism to allow the user to visually select at least one ofthe players to be a first member of the theme and add an additional oneor more of the available players to the theme, if desired, and whereinthe theme is configured with parameters pertaining to the players, andis activated at anytime or a specific time so that the players react ina synchronized manner.
 12. The invention as recited in claim 11, whereinthe user interface shows what media is being played on each of theavailable players.
 13. The invention as recited in claim 12, wherein theuser interface shows a visual means for the user to activate a selectionof one of the players; and modify the visual means after the selectionis made so that the selection can be visually seen.
 14. The invention asrecited in claim 13, wherein the user interface is configured to showthe theme graphically, the more members are in the theme, the larger thetheme is shown with respect to any of the available players that are nota member of the theme.
 15. The invention as recited in claim 14, whereinthe group includes by default at least a controller used to providecommands to synchronize the players in the theme.
 16. The invention asrecited in claim 15, wherein the controller is used to manage the groupand create, edit or update a playlist for the group.
 17. The inventionas recited in claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to be ableto perform operations of: activating the theme; determining a status ofeach of the players; and sending commands to the each of the players toplay the multimedia file when the status indicates that the each of theplayers is in condition to synchronize with the group.
 18. The inventionas recited in claim 17, wherein the commands include data that causes avolume level of the each of the players to be set to a predeterminedlevel.
 19. The invention as recited in claim 18, wherein the commandsinclude data that causes a volume level of the players in the group allto be set to a predetermined level provided the players are all incondition to synchronize with the group.
 20. The invention as recited inclaim 11, wherein, when the theme is activated at a specific time, thegroup is configured to perform as an alarm.